A Different McGowan Boy
by reading book worm girl
Summary: What are Sean's thoughts about Megan? And what if Sean had fallen for Megan as well?
1. Chapter 1

I was playing Frisbee with my brothers as I saw my mom's car pull up to the house. Our new house guest was here. It had been about six years since I had seen Megan Meade, and was curious as to how she had grown up. She should be about sixteen now. Last time I had seen her she was nine and I was thirteen.

I watched as she stared at us McGowan boys. I knew what she was thinking. I knew she was probably wondering where the icky Popsicle goo boys were and where we came from. I knew she was probably trying to figure out which of us were her enemies back then and trying to figure out if she needed to look out for any attacks from us at all.

When my mom and Megan finally got out of the car, I had to do a double take. Megan had really grown up! She had curves where she should, and she obviously knew who she was and didn't want anyone else to tell her otherwise. I felt bad for her that Evan and Finn were the first ones to introduce themselves to her, as Evan is a player and does not know when to stop flirting with people. Especially when he is going to live with the person he is flirting with.

I found myself wishing that I could ask her out. As it was, I knew that there would be a fight between my brothers to see who, if any of us, could date Megan. I also knew that my mom and dad probably would put their foot down and say 'no' to any dating between one of us and Megan. However, when I looked at all of my brothers, I only saw issues with them, except with Ian and Caleb, who would have no business even thinking about it with Megan, as they are too young. Miller had his Asperger's Syndrome, Doug was too much of an ass, Evan was too much of a flirt, and Finn had no clue about girls at all. I even saw issues with myself. I was too quiet, kept to myself too much, and was probably too old for her anyway. I mean, who wants to date a 20 year old when they are 16? Well, there was always the argument about the age difference formula for dating, where technically according to it I could date a 16 or 17 year old if I wished, but I don't think my parents would go for it.

Well maybe they would, but they would probably call in her parents as well into any decision regarding her, including who she dates. And there would also most likely be severe restrictions on what can and can't be done in the house, and how they must do things. However, it is way too soon to be thinking about any of that, and probably too out of line as well. I don't even really know her, other than as the girl that Evan and I tortured when she was here last. She probably thinks that I'm a recluse, which really isn't far off from the truth. I am not a social butterfly, unlike Evan the perpetual flirt who I bet right now is trying to think of ways to get Megan to fall for him. Poor, poor Megan for getting stuck around Evan.

Maybe I should talk to Megan and give her the run-down on who here will be after her to sabotage her room, to date her, and who to be careful around for whatever reasons. She seems like an awesome person, with her bike and everything. Well, I should wrangle the two little ones so that Megan can go get settled.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ian! Caleb! Come over here and leave her alone!" I yelled. That got both the boy's attention and Megan's attention. She looked surprised that I was actually speaking. Even my family looked surprised at that fact. I guess I really am as anti-social as they accuse me of being. The runts made their way over to me, while everyone else just kinda stared. They looked like they were trying to figure out if their eyes and ears were lying to them and they were hearing a ghost yelling instead of me.

I got the runts inside and got them to work on their homework that they still had from the previous week, while I worked on what I needed to get for the repairs on my bike. I needed new parts for the engine, as the one in my motorcycle was failing a bit. I wasn't exactly sure what was wrong, and it would take another bit of time for me to figure out exactly if it was the engine itself or if it was just one part.

When the runts were done with their math homework, I let them go play. I didn't want to be in charge of them all afternoon. I figured by now she had gotten most of her stuff into her new room upstairs and that I could freely go to the garage and tinker with my bike.


	3. Chapter 3

As I was tinkering with my bike, I thought over what I thought about Megan Meade and the fact that she was moving in with us. I kept thinking about how she had grown up since the days she was only 9 and I was 13. Long gone was the shorter hair and little girl tendencies. In their place was a young woman who played soccer and was focused on who she wanted to be. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me. The door had opened to reveal Megan.

"Can I help you?" I asked her.

"Yeah… I was wondering if you knew where I could get tools to look at my bike with… I need to fix it up a bit before I start school…" she replied.

"Oh, sure… I can help you out with both finding the tools and looking at your bike. No problem at all."

"Thanks. I just don't feel comfortable asking any of the others, even though you were the one who caused me the most torment when we were kids…"

"I'm not that bad a guy, not like I was all those years ago to you. Blame adolescence." I laughed. She laughed along with me.

We started working on her bike, which needed a new seat, and a couple new bolts in various places, as well as a little tune-up in the gears. Overall, it took about an hour to fix all the issues with the bike for her.

"So how do you feel about living in the same house as a bunch of boys?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure… I'm not entirely comfortable around Doug at all, Miller is just anti-social, Caleb and Ian are too little to care, and Finn and Evan both seem to be trying to think of how to ask me out... it kinda scares me…" she replied.

"Oh don't worry about Miller, Doug and the younger ones. Finn is pretty harmless and if you don't want to go out with him, then don't. It is as simple as that. As for Evan, I would be more worried about him. He is an incorrigible flirt and doesn't seem to take no for an answer. If he ever really bugs you, let me know and I'll take care of him for you. As for me, well, I am the anti-social one, not Miller. I am the recluse smart one who didn't do anything with my life such as college, and is living in the attic at the age of 20 in my parent's house not expecting to leave in the near future."

"Good to know, I guess… haha…"

"So I think it is now time for dinner, and we will be getting yelled at in a little bit here to go inside, so we might as well go and beat my mother to it, shall we?"


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, I contemplated more on my situation with Megan and how like Evan and Finn I also wanted to ask her out. Of course, there was always the situation that she was living in the same house, as well as the fact that I am twenty and she is sixteen. There was also the fact that I was pretty sure that both her parents and mine would be against us dating as we were living with them under the same roof and what not.

However, I also wanted to ask her out to protect her from Evan and his gang. None of them were necessarily the best people out there to hang out with, as they were always out getting drunk. I was just going to have to wait for the first bad thing to happen before I tried to get involved at all. Thank god, though, that I decided to give Megan my phone number this evening while working on her bike with her.


	5. Chapter 5

Oh so she did go and find trouble today at school… and with Evan's girlfriend, no less! Well, I am glad she had Finn's number, even though she also had mine. I am getting jealous of my brothers for getting attention from Megan, and I wish that I could ask her out and not cause ridiculous trouble for her and myself, and with our parents. Hmmm… I wonder if I would be able to talk to my mom about this. She has been wanting me to get a girlfriend for a while, and I know that if she knows right off the bat she won't totally freak out on me… hmmm… to mom it is!


	6. Chapter 6

If I were mom, where would I be? Mom… where would mom be? Umm… Kitchen! Huzzah! I found my mother!

"Hey mom? Could we talk about something? In private? Please?" I asked her. "It's kinda important."

"Sure, Sean… I'm kind of surprised that you are asking to talk to me. What about?"

"So you know how you have been on my case since I was like 16 to get a girlfriend?" I asked. "I think I know who I would want as a girlfriend, but it is sort of complicated."

"How so?" my mom asked me. "Is it someone I know? Do they live around here? Does your father know this person? What are they like?"

"That's the thing mom… You already know all the answers to those questions."

"Who is it?"

"Megan." I whispered. I prepared for the yelling outburst, scrunched up my shoulders and leant back so that my face wasn't near her hands.

"What? Why? When did you decide this? Do you know how much trouble this could cause, not only with me and your father, but also with her parents, as well as the possibility of an issue with the law?" she asked me. "Now I know that we did not raise an idiot, but I need to know if you are aware of these things."

"Yes, mom, I am aware. I even looked up the laws about it. As long as we have her parents' consent, Megan and I can date. And it isn't like I would take advantage of her, either. You know me mom. I have been watching Evan and I never did things like he is doing now. Plus, we both live under this roof. On separate floors."

"Well we can call her parents later this evening if you like, after we talk with your father about this as well. You would also need to bring this up with Megan if we call her parents and they don't see an issue with it. And I know that you would not take advantage of her."

"Thanks, mom. At least there is one person on my side." I smiled and walked away, ready to just sit in my attic until I was summoned for dinner.

* * *

><p>During dinner, I couldn't stop staring at Megan. I hope she didn't notice. I'm so nervous right now because after dinner I have to talk to my parents and call her parents and ask for permission to date their daughter, should she let me, of course. I still don't know if they will agree or tell me no. I guess I won't find out until I talk to them. Then I will have to face the challenge of asking her to go out with me. But, first things first. Talk to my parents.<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this, son? Do you really like her?" my dad asked me. We were in my attic. I was sitting on my bed, and they were on chairs near my bed, facing me.<p>

"Yeah, dad, I do. I think I have since we last saw her, but obviously I didn't know it back then." I replied, looking straight at him.

"Well if you are sure. Here is their phone number in Korea. I hope you know what you are going to say to them, Sean. Good luck." my mom said as they left the room. I stared as they left me alone in the attic to call them on my cell phone.

Well here goes nothing… dial tone… oh hey look it's ringing… twice… three… four… fi-

"Hello?" I hear the voice on the other end of the line. It was her father.

"Hello, Mr. Meade. This is Sean McGowan? John and Regina's oldest boy?" I said.

"Hello Sean! How are you? How old are you right now? How is studying?" he asked me. I contemplated how to answer this question. I could try for the straightforward approach, or I could try to be subtle, which I suck at. Straightforward it is.

"I'm good. I am 20 years old. I'm currently taking a break from college, staying in my parents' attic, working on my bike."

"Good for you, son! So I know there was another reason that you called other than to tell us how old you are and that you are taking a break from college. Is there something wrong? Something we need to know?" he prompted.

"Uh… yeah… kind of… see… well…" I stammered…

"Just come out with it Sean. What's going on?" he asked again.

"Well… I was calling to ask… I know Megan is 16 and I'm 20…"

"… Yeah? Are you trying to ask our permission to date our daughter?"

"Basically, sir."

"Ah. And what have your parents said about this?"

"Well they have basically said that since I am the one wanting to date her I have to be the one to come up to you guys and talk to you. They also said that they are fine, and I already told them that I have no intention of anything happening under their roof or at all that is at all inappropriate."

"Well you and your parents seem to have it covered. All I would ask is for Megan to call if she decides that she would like to date you. You haven't asked her yet, have you?"

"No, sir. I did not want to ask her before I talked to you."

"Good man. Well you have my permission. I trust you and your judgment, son." he praised me. He praised me! "I hope you have a good night, Sean, and I trust that you will talk to Megan soon."

"Yes, sir, I will. Most likely tomorrow. Thank you sir."

"Good night."

"Good night."

We hung up. I HAVE THEIR PERMISSION! Next step… finding a way to get her alone and ask her… this could be tricky….


	7. Chapter 7

Okay. Here I am. Trying to think of a way to ask her. Should I be straightforward? Or should I try and be subtle? Oh who am I kidding? I can't do subtle at all. I am more of the person to tell them straight to their face the truth. I need to do that with Megan. Just tell her to her face that I like her and I would like to kiss her. To date her. Why does this have to be so hard? Why can't she be some girl that isn't underage or living with my family? Why not the girl from down the street? It can't be because I have been hung up on this girl since I was 13, the last time I saw her.

Oh. She is home from school. Looks like she had a hard time with Evan, from the looks he is shooting her. Finn looks like he needs a good kick in the ass to get away from her, but they don't even know I like her, let alone that I have the permission from her parents to ask her out and date her if she so wishes. Here goes nothing…

"Megan? Can I talk to you for a minute in the garage?" I asked. She looked over at me confused, seemingly wondering what I could possibly have to say to her. "I just want to ask you something, Megan."

"Sure. Be there in a minute."

"Okay. See you in a minute." I walked to the garage and sat down on a chair by the workbench. My workbench, as I am the one that is always in here. I sit there, staring at the door until she comes in, confused as to what I want to ask.

"You wanted to ask me something, Sean? What is it?" she asked, curious.

"Okay. Megan, I have basically known you your whole life, since you are younger than me. You have only been here a couple days, but I must honestly say that I really like you. I have actually liked you since I was around 13. You were only 9 then, but you had a spirit that I, as a 13 year old, really liked in a girl. I guess that I have never been able to forget about you. What I would like to ask you is if you would consent to go on a date with me?"

"Seriously? I am four years younger than you. Why would you be interested in dating me? What could I have that could possibly interest a guy who is 20 years old?"

"I don't expect you to take me seriously, but I am serious. I do like you, Megan. I would like to date you, if you would allow me the chance. I know that Evan and Finn are closer to your age than I, but, honestly, I don't care. I have already asked my parents on their thoughts, and they don't mind."

"But… What about my parents? Why would they allow you to date me, a girl four years younger than you?"

"I called them last night. They gave me their permission. I didn't even have to explain a lot. I was expecting to have to explain a lot more to them. All I had to tell them was that my parents were okay with this, and that I wouldn't hurt you or be inappropriate with you at all."

She started to laugh. She didn't seem upset by my asking and telling her this stuff, so I don't know why she is laughing. Does she not want to date me? "Megan? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said between laughs. "Just what you said about my parents," more laughing "as soon as you said something I knew that was coming. They already knew how I felt about you, and that was why they gave you permission right away, without a fight. They did that because I already told them that I like you when I first came to live here."

"So… Is that a yes?" I asked… I didn't want to walk away thinking the wrong thing.

"Yeah… it's a yes, Sean," she said. I got up, picked her up, and swung her around, with her laughing.

"Well… I guess we better head back inside to tell them what is going on…" I said… she nodded her head and we started heading in…


	8. Chapter 8

We walked into the house, just to see my parents staring at the door that we just walked through. They knew what I was asking her when I asked to talk to her just over ten minutes ago. They wanted to know what was going on didn't they?

"Hey mom, dad…" I said.

"Want to tell us what is going on, Sean?" asked my dad. I didn't know what his reaction would be, even though he said that I could ask her.

"She said yes?" I said.

"Good. Now stop moping around and help me with the mashed potatoes for dinner." My mom stated. I started to laugh.

"You knew what her answer would be, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes we did. Her parents told us of her crush on you when she moved in. We knew what the answer would be," said dad.

"Okay, then… To the mashed potatoes, then, I guess, mom?"

* * *

><p>Later that evening, I knew that I had to tell the other boys what was going on. I knew that Evan and Finn would not take it well. Especially Evan, as I was taking a potential notch off his bedpost, so to speak. Finn would eventually be okay with it, but I knew that it would put a strain on our relationship none the less.<p>

"Hey guys, I need to speak to you! All of you, even you, Ian, Caleb!" I yelled into the basement/game room. All of them turned their heads to look at me. They decided that they would hear me out and join me in the corner that I was in.

"What's up?" asked Finn.

"I have a date with a girl this weekend…" I started. They all started to cheer, and then they got confused. They didn't know of any girl that I had been seen around, other than Megan, and in their minds, me dating Megan was preposterous.

"Who is she, dude?" asked Doug. "We wanna know!" Everyone agreed with him, even the runts.

"Well you all know her."

"Okay? Even the runts?" asked Evan.

"Yes, even the runts."

"Who is she? I mean the only girls that they would know that aren't their ages are Megan, mom, and our grandmothers," stated Finn.

"Well you just listed her name."

"Wait! You have a date with MEGAN? The very same Megan that lives under our roof currently? What the hell? You are like four years older than her! Isn't there some law against that?" exploded Evan. "Couldn't you get into a whole hell of a lot of trouble for it, just with our parents alone?"

"They know. Her parents know. The law states that an adult can date a minor as long as the minor's parents/guardians consent to it. Meaning both our parents and her parents have to be consenting, especially since we are under the same roof, currently. Besides, she has apparently had a crush on me for forever so it didn't take all that much convincing for her father to give me permission."

"What the hell, man? Did you even think that maybe Finn or I wanted to date her? Those of us who are her age? Unlike you?" asked Evan.

"Yes, I did. I even asked her. She was free to tell me know when I asked her out. So don't go yelling at me. And don't go giving her a hard time, either. She doesn't deserve it. She is free to choose who she wants to date. If she goes out once with me and decides that she doesn't like it, I'm not going to push it. However, that does not give you guys permission to try to sabotage the date or do any mind games with her. Got it? I have told our parents what I was going to talk to you guys about, and they know what to do to let me know what is going on."


End file.
